Video Premiere: Andi Fins Balances Elation & Melancholy in “Stan’s Copycat”

Based upon a true online dating story, Andi Fins’ “Stan’s Copycat” finds both joy and sadness in a buoyant expression of failed in-person romance.

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Don’t take it the wrong way, but you sounded better in writing than talking face to face.

Andi Fins’ latest song is as much a breath of fresh air, as it is a chillingly cold wind. Based upon a true online dating story, “Stan’s Copycat” finds both joy and sadness in a buoyant expression of failed in-person romance.

Stan's Copycat - Andi Fins
Stan’s Copycat – Andi Fins
she asked me for a smoke and said:
“don’t take it the wrong way,
but you sounded better
in writing than talking face to face”
so what was i supposed to say?
i hated to burst her bubble
as i started to struggle
the stars still blinking in her eyes
waiting for my replies
like two lost strangers
out on a monday night
searching for matches
for something to ignite

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the music video for “Stan’s Copycat,” Andi Fins’ first single of 2019 (released May 24, 2019). Based in Berlin, Andi Fins is a producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with an easy, engaging, and resonating blend of folk and pop styles. His debut album A Chapter Missing Its Book released in 2012, and he release his sophomore record How Will Our Here Get Out of This One? last June.

Andi Fins © Katja Aujesky
Andi Fins © Katja Aujesky

Colorful harmonies and fun guitar licks propel “Stan’s Copycat” into a sweetly melodic affair from the heart; one can feel the lightness with which the artist approaches the whole situation, yet at the same time sense the negativity emanating from his date’s less-than-positive reaction to him. There’s this divide between laughing everything off, and sinking into the underlying nuances rippling from this unique-to-online-dating scenario, as Fins himself wonders aloud in the chorus:

did i say anything, did i say anything wrong?
did i say anything, did i say anything at all?
i’m trying to see if i am all set
i’m trying to see who i really am

“I went on a dating site and began to chat with a woman,” Andi Fins tells Atwood Magazine, recalling the inspiration behind his song. “She thought I was British and for some reason I took her for the super mysterious far away girl, right out of Armistead Maupins’ tales about San Francisco. Anyway, after a while the both of us turned out to be two ordinary Germans just pretending to be somebody else in our usual boring space, but at least we found ourselves having a long and funny conversation. Finally we met in a bar on the same night and after a couple of drinks she said that I’d be sounding much cooler in writing than inside here, face to face.”

He continues, “She began to tell me about the many dates she already had, highlighting the fact that she was a dating pro and I’d be a bloody beginner. Later on the street we bowed out in dignity and on my way home I had an idea for a new song about this crazy back and forth between elation and melancholy.”

Andi Fins © Mayra Wallraff
Andi Fins © Mayra Wallraff

The music video for “Stan’s Copycat” essentially follows the story of this failed date, going beyond the one-off encounter to show the narrator trying to find himself and the date continuing to go out and live her life, seemingly unaffected by the encounter. Set against Fins’ light, breathy music, the situation at times feels almost comical – and in a way, that’s the point: To not make a mountain out of this molehill moment. Yet it feels gargantuan at the time, with hearts racing and the potential (albeit failed) for love permeating the air. We can feel the immediacy of this song and its story through the video, and appreciate the constant struggle to find oneself both independently of a partner, and in individual’s search for love and connection.

Andi Fins’ third album is set to release this September. For now, watch the music video for “Stan’s Copycat” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

woke up alone n my new bed
like i’m written out of this chapter

a melody was going through my head,
the one i’d have loved to capture

but it flew out right through the window
doing its thing wherever the wind blows
did i say anything, did i say anything wrong?
did i say anything, did i say anything at all?
i’m trying to see if i am all set
i’m trying to see who i really am
at Stan’s Copycat
Stream: “Stan’s Copycat” – Andi Fins

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Stan's Copycat - Andi Fins

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Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © Katja Aujesky
director ? © Mayra Wallraff

:: Stream Andi Fins ::

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